Hot Topics:

Barry Fey, Harry Tuft inducted in Boulder into Colorado Music Hall of Fame

By Amy Bounds/Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
02/12/2012 09:01:53 PM MST

Updated:
02/13/2012 08:53:33 AM MST

Music promoter Barry Fey's list of thank-you's was a who's who of big name acts, from the Doors to U2.

But he said at his Colorado Music Hall of Fame induction today that it's the fans who deserve the most credit for turning Denver from a cowtown to a “must stop” place for musicians.

“They are the best rock and roll audience in the United States,” said an emotional Fey, wearing a Jim Morrison T-shirt topped with a bright purple jacket.

Fey was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame along with Denver's Harry Tuft of the Folklore Center. The ceremony, held at the University of Colorado's Folsom Field, included performances by Otis Taylor and Firefall with special guest Chris Daniels.

At 27, Fey took over the Family Dog concert hall in Denver and soon hosted Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and the Doors. Fey also did some of his best work outside of Denver, bringing big acts to Boulder.

“My whole goal, when I started out in life, was to have a positive effect on my environment and be honored by the people where I live,” Fey said. “It's been a magic three months for me.”

Fey, who recently released a book “Backstage Past,” was introduced at the ceremony by celebrity veterinarian and comedian Kevin Fitzgerald.

Advertisement

After the Family Dog opened, Fitzgerald said, Denver's music scene “just exploded.”

“Anyone who was anyone wanted to play Denver,” he said.

Fitzgerald also joked about Fey's intense personality, saying “you haven't been screamed at until you've been screamed at by Barry Fey.”

Tuft, who founded the Denver Folklore Center in 1962, was introduced by Hot Rize's Nick Forster. Forster said the center was about more than the music industry or making money.

Barry Fey, left, and Harry Tuft greet each other before a Sunday ceremony to induct them into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame at the Stadium Club at the University of Colorado's Folsom Field.
(
CLIFF GRASSMICK
)

Traveling musicians would stop in for supplies and end up performing. It was also where people called when they needed a band.

“It was a community that was a family,” Forster said. “It was an amazing, amazing place.”

Tuft said he came to Denver to be performer, but decided instead to open the Folklore Center, which is turning 50 this year.

“I got infected by this dreadful thing called folk music,” he joked.

G. Brown, director of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and a longtime Denver Post music critic, said Fey and Tuft are “two grand old men of our music community.”

The Colorado Music Hall of Fame, which started last year and is located at Broomfield's located at 1stBank Center, raises money for the University of Colorado's College of Music. The first two inductees were singer John Denver and Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison.

Plans for 2012 call for quarterly inductions. Up next is honoring musicians from the ‘60s, including the Astronauts. A tribute to Dan Fogelberg and a ceremony honoring Judy Collins, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Chris Daniels also are in the works.

Boulder is pretty good at producing rock bands, and by "rock," we mean the in-your-face, guitar-heavy, leather-clad variety — you know, the good kind. For a prime example, look no farther than BANDITS. Full Story